Okiura’s ‘Momo’ to open wide

Kadokawa to release toon on 300 screens

TOKYO — Kadokawa Pictures will release the Hiroyuki Okiura toon “A Letter to Momo” on 300 screens in next year’s spring Golden Week holiday period, the company has revealed.

Seven years in the making, the toon is screening at Toronto in the TIFF Kids section. The story, about a girl who, soon after the death of her father, moves to a remote island with her mother, where she encounters supernatural goings-on, was also scripted by Okiura.

Three hundred is a big number of screens for a local toon made from an original story, not a comic or TV toon franchise. Two years ago Toei toon “One Piece Film: Strong World” bowed on only 188 screens, but finished north of $50 million.

Okiura last directed the fantasy-thriller toon “Jin-roh” in 1999. Other credits include stints as an animator on Satoshi Kon’s “Paprika” (2006) and Mamoru Oshii’s “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence” (2004). The production company is Production I.G.

In addition to Toronto, the toon is skedded to screen at the Sitges and Busan fests.